Sensational She-Hulk #13
Village of the Darned!
After her ordeal with Lexington Loopner, She-Hulk and her friend Louise Mason decide to head into Vermont for a vacation. When She-Hulk asks Louise how she managed to talk Blake Tower into letting her take the time off, she learns that Weezie actually quit her job so she can help Jennifer set up her new law practice. She-Hulk is flattered at the gesture even though she isn't sure how her new business venture will go. Suddenly, Jen's flying car begins acting haywire and suddenly cuts out. With the car falling out of the sky, She-Hulk leaps from the plummeting vehicle to try and catch it from the ground. After knocking into some trees, she manages to get into the road just in time to catch the car, saving Mason's life. She-Hulk then drags her immobilized car to the town of Mount Pressure, a small ski resort town. When they get the car to the garage, the owner tells her that it was probably a victim of the magnetic anomaly that surrounds the town. However, he swears that regardless of what it did to She-Hulk's car it has done well for the town. He tells the two women that he can have the battery recharged in a few hours and they'll be good to go. When the hoot of Jen's car unlatches and slams on the mechanic's fingers, She-Hulk helps him get his fingers loose. When she comments about how he kept his cool, she points out she would have said something worse than "darn it" had it happened to her. She then gets a strange scolding from the man who says he wouldn't suffer from improper usage of the mouth or any other organ.
As they go to a nearby diner, She-Hulk is confused over getting such a stern talking to over something so minor. After they order a round of hot chocolate they are suddenly caught by surprise when there is an explosion in the kitchen. Outruns the cook who is on fire and, strangely enough, he is also refraining from cursing even though he is engulfed in flames. Quick thinking, She-Hulk grabs the burning man and tosses him outside and puts him out in the snow. As they leave the diner, She-Hulk and Louise both find it interesting that nobody in this town can be brought to curse. As they are walking through a park, a young man suggests that he and his girlfriend go spooning somewhere private. Suddenly, he shrieks in pain as his head begins to experience a great deal of pressure. Suddenly a massive meteorite comes down from overhead and crushes the young man. When everyone acts so nonchalant about the situation, the two visitors wonder what is going on. Louise suggests that the best way they can find answers would be to go to a local bar and ask around.
They go to the other side of town, a rough-looking neighborhood they go into a bar. There they find the toughest looking man and try to question him. He gives some lip to start, but She-Hulk convinces him to talk. He explains that most people in town believe in a religion called Organism, which forces the "proper" use of all organs. That those who were not on board were forced to the dregs of society. He explains that the priest named Wildmoon uses something called the Anomaly to force people to stay in line. She-Hulk learns the location of the church and decides to pay a visit to Wildmoon. When they enter the church they find some strange iconography: A state of a man blindfolded and gagged with carrots in his ear, as well the Yin-Yang symbol. They are soon visited by Wildmoon himself who explains that this is the image of the "perfect man". Wildmoon explains that those who do not have "pure" organs are punished by the Anomaly. He then goes on to explain that he was a more conventional clergyman who believed that the world was being ruined by smut and violence. He began preaching on television and demanding boycotts of things that he deemed inappropriate. He soon gathered a massive following and they began cleaning up the town of Mount Pressure. One day, the Anomaly fell out of the sky and bathed him in its light.
She-Hulk doesn't buy the purity angle, pointing out that he has gotten nothing but power and vanity from the whole ordeal. Calling the two women blasphemers, he uses the power gained from the Anomaly to increase the pressure in their minds. However, She-Hulk is able to beat hers back. When the She-Hulk demands to know how the Anomaly gets more powerful by keeping the town censored, Wildmoon tells her that it's none of her business. Suddenly, his skin shatters revealing a bat-like from underneath his skin. This is the Anomaly that has been growing inside Wildmoon, feeding off the repressive energies taken from the townspeople. She-Hulk knocks him outside, and when he tries to bring down a number of meteors down upon her, She-Hulk grabs hold of him as the meteors impact. She-Hulk emerges mostly unscathed, but Wildmoon and the Anomaly are dead and his influence removed from the town. With the danger over, She-Hulk tells Louise that they should get her car out of this town.
Recurring Characters
She-Hulk, Louise Mason
